


(Like a telescope) I will pull you so close

by Atalto



Series: The Story of Us (Pebble's Shance Fluff Week fics) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling, Discussions of marriage, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Shance Fluff Week 2017, Sleepy Shance is a soft shance, tiny lil bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 00:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11093055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: Shiro and Lance share a moment on the observation deck. Cuddles ensue.~Written for Shance Fluff Week 2017! Day 2: Stars/Sea





	(Like a telescope) I will pull you so close

**Author's Note:**

> Hello one and all! Welcome to day 2!
> 
> This got a lil' angsty I'm sorry, not sorry.
> 
> Title from Venus by Sleeping at Last
> 
> Enjoy!

All was quiet in the Castle of Lions.

It was an odd feeling, Shiro realised as he methodically checked the castle's many rooms and floors, not to hear at least a rumble of chatter from any one room. So far, he'd seen Pidge and Hunk huddled in one corner of Green's hangar, discussing codes and algorithms that he didn't understand but smiled at anyway. He'd just passed Keith in the training room, jokingly telling him to watch his footing as he went past, which earned him an eye roll and a cocky smirk from the Red Paladin. He'd even had a brief conversation with Coran in a darkened corridor full of holding pods before the Altean bustled off with his arms full of cleaning materials.

Shiro had just finished convincing an exhausted Allura to go and catch up on some sleep when something dawned on him; he hadn't seen Lance yet.  
He was conflicted; he felt like he should have been scared, but he wasn't. Not really. Lance had spent a lot of time in the early stages of their relationship proving he could take care of himself, and as much as Shiro wanted him to protect him from the horrors of the universe, Lance was now a Paladin like the rest of them.

No, instead he was just worried. If it was one thing he knew about his boyfriend, it was Lance's addiction to social situations. Even after exhausting missions, he could usually be found at someone's side. Despite this, Shiro had seen everyone _but_ him so far, and he'd reached the lowest sections of the castleship.  
There was a lonely atmosphere here, not aided by the flickering lights, metallic footsteps, and an echo that seemed to stretch on forever when Shiro called out Lance's name only for it to return with silence.

He'd just started to run when he entered the lower observation deck. By now, the ships light was all but gone, and the room was only illuminated by the nebulae on the other side of the see-through walls. It was empty, and cold; Shiro noticed how his heavy breaths were curling past his eyes in white vapour. " _Lance?_ " He called as he drew to a halt in the centre of the room.

"-Kashi? 'Sat you?" A small, slurred voice rose up from a seating indent near the window, and Shiro released the breath he didn't realise he was holding. He jogged over to the source of the voice, oxygen debt still attacking his lungs.

In front of him, Lance was sleepily curled up on one of the long benches, the young man looking small and childlike in the darkness. He was swaddled in blankets of so many colours that Shiro guessed he must have taken them from the others' rooms. As Shiro made moves to sit down next to him, he lethargically sat up, only to fall again onto Shiro's chest once the black paladin was sat.

"Your heart's goin' like a jackrabbit, Kashi," Lance murmured quietly. "You okay?"  
Shiro smiled softly and wrapped an arm around where he assumed Lance's waist was. "I'm okay." He said, sighing lightly. "I panicked, but you're alright, so it's fine."  
Lance averted his eyes from Shiro's face awkwardly. "Sorry about that."  
"Don't apologise, you have every right to time on your own. I can leave if you'd like?"  
Lance froze at that, shaking his head as much as he could in his position. "Stay. Please." His grin returned slightly. "You're a much better pillow than the bench is."

They sat in silence for a while after that, Lance dosing on Shiro's chest whilst Shiro rubbed small circles into Lance's waist through the blankets. The longer they remained there, the more Shiro understood why Lance chose here to hide; the view was _spectacular._ Outside the windows, space seemed to stretch on forever, a veil of inky black littered with diamond-like stars that twinkled in the dark. Sometimes, nebulae drifted past, lighting up the dimmed deck with shades of blue and purple, of yellow, green, and red. If he squinted, he could make out vibrant planets and moons that maybe, just maybe, they'd visit one day. Maybe once this war was over, and the Galra empire finally fell, they'd get to explore. He'd take Lance to every beach planet that Lance pretended he wasn't disappointed about when Coran said there wasn't any need to go. He'd take him to mountainous planets, to scale an alien north face with Altean bungee cords. They'd visit the brightest stars, meet aliens they never knew existed, and do everything they wanted to that war prevented them from doing, the things that made Lance's eyes light up in that particular way. It was a pipe-dream, but a pipe-dream that got them through, a pipe-dream that Lance would talk about in a hushed whisper when Shiro's nightmares tore at his mind and prevented any sort of rest.

But none of this answered why Lance, exuberant, extroverted, tireless Lance, was down here in the first place.

"What're you thinking about, Takashi? You've got that faraway look in your eyes again." Lance's concerned slurring brought him back to reality, half-lidded blue eyes seriously meeting with grey ones. Shiro laughed, the familiar warm feeling at Lance calling him by his first name bubbling up in his chest. "You." He replied honestly.

Lance raised his eyebrow. "What about me is so interesting that you zone out for ten dobashes?"  
"Just thinking about what we're going to do once this is all over."  
He felt Lance tense on top of him, eyes once again averting and head turning to look out of the window again.  
"Kitten?"  
"If you wanna' ditch me back on Earth then do your own thing, I'm okay with that." The blue Paladin's voice was tinged with sadness. "I'm probably not the best person to take with you on a deep space exploration, I guess."

Suddenly things clicked into place. It wasn't often Lance's insecurities got the better of him (sure he had _moments_ , but didn't everyone?), but on the rare days they did, he would shut himself off from the rest of the team. Today was just one of those days.

Shiro moved a hand away from Lance's waist and up to his jaw, tilting his head back towards Shiro. "I want you with me every step of the way, Blue. Leaving you back on Earth? Well," he chuckled "it's the last thing I'd do."  
"Sure?" The sadness in Lance's voice was replaced with hope, and Shiro felt a small amount of pride at being the one who put it there.  
"Would I lie to you?"  
It didn't need an answer.  
Lance smiled at that, wide and real, and gently placed his head in the crook of Shiro's neck. He planted a soft kiss on Shiro's cheek before looking out once again at the sea of stars before them. Shiro placed a kiss on the crown of Lance's head. "At least, now we're even for panicking each other."  
Lance made an exaggerated frown and wormed an arm out of the prison of blankets. "Hey, you can't blame me." He jokingly huffed, poking Shiro's cheek. "When your muscled, tragic hero boyfriend starts talking about the future, it's either marriage or break up. There's no in between."  
"And who said I didn't want to marry you?" Shiro replied with a laugh, pushing their foreheads together.  
Lance snorted. "Dude, let me live first!" He pushed Shiro's head away. "And I think Keith would actually murder me, and that's such a boring way to go, you know? Death by emo mullet stabbing me in the gut with his fancy knife."  
That made Shiro laugh softly, watching Lance mime out a stabbing motion and pulling his hair forward to represent Keith's bangs.  
"I doubt the Princess or Coran would be the best officiators either." Shiro added. "I, I don't want to know the Altean equivalent of marriage."  
Lance thought for a moment. "They probably had to battle a klanmürl to get approval, let alone the actual ceremony. Imagine that, Coran fighting an angry winged bear with his fists."  
The two laughed carefree at the image, before falling back into a thoughtful silence.

"When we get back to Earth though," Shiro said, calm and slow, "and all this is finished, would you like to?"  
Lance hummed in confusion.  
"Get married, I mean."  
"If we live that long?" Lance paused, before grinning, face full of affection. "Why not, man, if you'll marry me, how can I say no?"  
Their lips met halfway to each other, pausing time within that instant, only the stars outside bearing witness to a moment of vulnerability. Here, they weren't Paladins of Voltron, they weren't even pilots; just two people in love with the other in the bleakest of situations. Lance was aware of Shiro's body wash, of Shiro's hands on the small of his back, of the slightest bump of noses that created a momentary giggle. It was far from perfect, since they were at an odd angle, and Shiro would complain afterwards of Lance's post-nap breath, but in that moment, it was all they needed.

They broke apart a little while later, both flushed and panting, with swollen lips and a shared grin on their faces.  
"Hey Blue?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you."  
"I love you too, Takashi."

* * *

 

"Shiro? Lance? Are you down here?"

Allura sighed deeply. The other Paladins had already resurfaced for evening nourishment some time ago. Admittedly, Hunk did have to forcibly drag Keith out of the training deck, and Pidge did give Coran the runaround for a good twenty dobashes before handing her newest project over to him, but they were all still present.

All with the exception of Lance and Shiro.

They weren't in their rooms, they weren't on the bridge, and they certainly weren't in the kitchen with the others. In the end, Keith nearly twisted Pidge's arm to get her to scan the castle, which revealed they were both on the lowest deck, and Allura had held her hands up and offered to go and retrieve them. It was definitely because she was worried about her Paladins, and why they weren't eating despite many calls to muster.

It most definitely wasn't because she wanted to see if her theories about the duo's curious behaviour around one another were true, not aided by a wink from Coran that told her he wasn't telling her something.

She rounded the corner of the room quietly, stepping lightly incase they were there as to not interrupt.  
"Shiro? Lance?" She asked again, quieter this time.

Something rustled in the centre of the room. Allura stopped. Listened.

There was nothing. She continued.

She inched forwards again, getting closer to the indent in the floor before the window. There was a shadowy figure sat on one of the benches. Was this a trap? Did something sneak on to the ship? They could have taken Shiro and Lance, faked their bio-signs to lure her down there. If Ulaz could do it, she had no doubt someone else could.

The figure moved, shifted slightly in two parts, and... snored?

Allura creeped forward hesitantly, moving to one side so she could see the front of this creature.  
She was greeted by the sight of Shiro and Lance; Shiro was sat with his feet planted firmly on the ground and arms wrapped around the body next to him, head tilted so his cheek was partially covered by Lance's mop of half-tamed curls. Lance, on the other hand, was curled around the older man, leaning on his shoulder whilst his legs were swung over Shiro's lap. Both were, very obviously, asleep.

Allura relaxed on the spot. Her Paladins were in front of her, safe and sound, and getting the rest they sorely needed. She felt a bit awkward really. She'd walked in on a very intimate scene; from what she'd heard about human culture, sleeping in the presence of another was an incredible form of trust, and to let one sleep on you was the greatest form of all.

There was a yellow blanket that had fallen to the floor, one of Hunk's that Lance had borrowed with no intention of giving it back. Allura lifted it up and secured it around their shoulders. Neither of them moved whilst she was doing this, so they really must have needed the sleep.

She shook her head, smiling lightly, and turned to exit the room. She'd simply tell the Paladins that Shiro and Lance were exhausted from the day's mission and wouldn't be attending dinner. After all, she now had some _very_ interesting information she needed to drill out of Coran.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 is even angstier my dudes, I'm actually sorry.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
